Application Review and Approval:

• Applications are received annually in the Charter Schools Office according to the Application Instructions.
• Applications are reviewed by the District’s Application Review Team, a team comprised of trained staff from a variety of district departments. The Team utilizes the Florida Charter School Application Evaluation Instrument to review applications.
• After a capacity interview is held with the applicant, the Team makes a recommendation to the Superintendent regarding approval or denial of the charter school application.
• The Hillsborough County School Board votes to approve or deny a charter school application. A charter school application that does not meet the statutory requirements of Florida Statues 1002.33(6)(a) shall be denied.
• Should the application be denied, the applicant has the right to appeal to the Florida Charter School Appeals Commission in accordance with Florida Statute 1002.33(6)(c).

2024 Charter School Applications Received:

• Navigator Academy of Leadership Southshore (Approved 6/4/2024)
• Lolita Multilingual Academy (Withdrawn 8/15/2024)
• B.E.A.M. Academy (Withdrawn 9/5/2024)
• Tampa Early College Academy (Withdrawn 12/10/24)

New School Year Zero: Upon execution of the contract between the charter school and HCPS, new schools are provided with the New Charter School Pre-Opening Checklist & Assurances to prepare for opening requirements during their pre-opening term or “year zero”. This document provides statutory and contractual references, an assurance checklist which will be completed by the school leader prior to school opening, a facility preparedness checklist to ensure a successful new building opening, a checklist for required new school documentation, and a pre-opening onsite checklist for verification of physical requirements present in the school prior to opening to students. 

New School Support Training: New schools that are scheduled to open, participate in two distinct trainings: 

• The Florida Department of Education’s Approved Applicant Training is a statutorily required training held by the Florida Department of Education and must be attended by representatives from the charter school prior to opening. This training can be attended after approval of the charter school application and prior to or after the execution of the charter contract. 
• Hillsborough County’s New Operator Meeting is held annually in June. Each participant receives specific information from district departmental staff who provide guidance regarding requirements on how to operate a charter school successfully within Hillsborough County. The charter school operators are informed of all necessary procedures, supports and requirements for successful collaboration with HCPS.  

2024-2025 New School Contracts

• N/A

Compliance Reporting: Compliance reporting is processed through an online platform called Charters Link. In Charters.Link each school is assigned submission deadlines for reporting documents due to the district and/or state. Within the Charters.Link system all submission descriptions, requirements and deadlines are provided and tracked to assist the school and the Charter Schools Office in ensuring compliance reporting is kept up-to-date and in compliance with district and state requirements. Due dates for compliance reporting are provided annually to school leaders, and in an ongoing manner within the Charters.Link platform.

Fiscal Oversight: Schools are required to submit unaudited monthly or quarterly (high-performing schools) financial reports for district review. The review of financial reports includes monitoring the total fund balance, revenues and expenditures, and any excess or deficiency found in the reports. Should it be determined from the unaudited financial reports that there is a deteriorating financial condition at the school; appropriate proceedings identified in F.S. 1002.34 will be followed.

Schools are also required to submit an annual financial audit within 90 days of the fiscal year end of June 30. The audit must be conducted by an independent certified public accountant or auditor. At the conclusion of the audit, the audit is discussed with the charter school board, and a copy of the audit is delivered to the school district as well as, the state’s Auditor General. Should the review of the annual audit result in a deteriorating financial condition or a financial emergency the charter school must comply with the development of a corrective action plan or financial recovery plan.

If a charter school fails to provide an audit, the school will be subject to expedited review by the sponsor and may be required to develop a corrective action plan.

Current and previous year charter school audited financials are available through Accounting Services.

Site Visits: The Charter Schools Office (CSO) monitors and supports all charters in Hillsborough County through several itinerant district staff who support schools and monitor compliance on school campuses daily in the areas of ESE, Psychological assessment, ELL, School Social Work, and Health services. Additionally, daily support and monitoring occurs from the CSO throughout the year by CSO staff members. This monitoring is documented throughout the school year and during a formal on-site annual site visit using the comprehensive CSO Annual Site Visit Rubric that is aligned to Florida statutes, the charter school's contract with HCPS, and best practices in charter school authorizing. All schools receive a minimum of one formal site visit each year. Any areas found out of compliance are documented and the school is notified in writing of the concern along with appropriate remedies. The comprehensive CSO Annual Site Visit is aligned to Contract Renewal requirements and serves as a meaningful tool to inform the contract renewal process. 

Florida Statute 1002.33(7)19(c)1 states, “A charter may be renewed provided that a program review demonstrates that the criteria in paragraph (a) have been successfully accomplished and that none of the grounds for nonrenewal established by paragraph (8)(a) has been documented.”

The Charter School Contract Renewal Review is part of a formal process followed by the Hillsborough County Charter Schools Office to thoroughly and systematically review the charter school seeking renewal.

The review covers review of the educational program practices, organizational practices and business practices evident at the school site and relevant to Charter School Law and the contract between the Hillsborough County School Board (HCSB) and the Charter School Board.

The Review Team comprised of Charter Schools Office staff, District employees from Human Resources, Curriculum/Instruction, Assessment, Business/Finance, and Federal Programs participate in the review process.

Once the review is complete, a final report is produced for the Hillsborough County School Board. The School Board reviews performance and recommendations for improvement and then makes a determination regarding the Superintendent’s recommendation to renew or non-renew the contract.

• Learning Gate Community School (Renewed 1/14/2025)
• New Springs Schools (Renewed 1/14/2025)
• Winthrop College Prep Academy (Renewed 1/28/2025)

F.S. 1002.33(8) defines clear causes for nonrenewal or the termination of a charter school. In general, a charter school may be closed for the following reasons:

Academic Accountability: A school’s failure to participate in the state’s education accountability system or failure to meet the requirements for student performance are grounds for nonrenewal or termination of the charter. Should a charter school receive two consecutive school grades of “F”; the school will be closed.

Fiscal Mismanagement: A school’s failure to meet generally accepted standards of fiscal management, including failure to correct deficiencies noted in a financial corrective action plan within 1 year after being notified may result in closure. A school exhibiting one or more financial emergency conditions for 2 consecutive years may also be closed.

Student Health & Safety: A charter may be terminated immediately if facts and circumstances indicate that an immediate and serious danger to the health, safety, or welfare of the school’s students exists.

Voluntary Closure: The governing board of directors of a charter school may also elect to voluntarily close the school. The decision to cease operations must be determined at a public meeting and the governing board must notify the district, parents of enrolled students and the state. The contract must then be terminated by the district school board.

As charter schools are public schools, all materials and property purchased with public funds are reverted to the district to distribute to other public schools regardless of the type of school closure.

2023-2024 School Closures

• N/A

Charter Schools in Hillsborough County are supported by the district’s Charter Schools Office which is comprised of itinerant school support staff and central office staff. Charter schools are also supported through many other district departments.

The itinerant school support staff member’s role is to be regularly involved in ongoing support and oversight of special programs like Exceptional Student Education (ESE) and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and requirements mandated in public schools such as student health and school attendance.

The central office staff provides guidance and support to school administrators and support staff, to charter school governing board members, and to the general public as it relates to information and inquiry about charter schools.

The Hillsborough County Public Schools Charter School Guide to District Services provides information to the charter schools regarding the support and services provided by the Charter Schools Office and many other district departments.